Team Penske fined $200,000 for Indy 500 scandal; Newgarden and Power will start last

Team Penske has landed in a second big IndyCar scandal in two years. The team failed technical inspections on the cars of Josef Newgarden and Will Power before Indy 500 qualifying on Sunday (May 18). The series has now suspended the strategists for their No. 2 and No. 12 cars and fined each entry $100,000.

Moreover, Newgarden and Power have been relegated to starting in the last two positions on the 33-driver grid. The results of their performance in Round 1 of qualifying on Saturday will decide their positions at the back of the grid. Because Newgarden had qualified in 3rd and Power in 10th, the two-time defending Indy 500 winner will start ahead of his 2018 Indy 500-winning teammate.

IndyCar reporter Marshall Pruett shared IndyCar's statement on Team Penske's technical violations on X. The statement read:

"Upon further review last night and early this morning, INDYCAR will be moving cars No. 2 and 12 to the 32nd and 33rd starting positions for this year’s Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge. They will start in order based upon their qualifying times from Saturday."

"Additionally, INDYCAR is suspending the team strategists for the Nos. 2 and 12 for the remainder of the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge, both cars will forfeit Indianapolis 500 qualification points and each entry has been fined $100,000. Car Nos. 2 and 12 also will forfeit their pit positions and will select their pit boxes after the remainder of the field has an opportunity to adjust accordingly.

As per AP News, IndyCar technical director Kevin Blanch said the No. 2 and No. 12 Team Penske cars had "a body fit violation on the rear attenuator," which could've given them an aerodynamic advantage. IndyCar president Doug Boles explained the whole situation in detail after the session.

Josef Newgarden and Will Power's cars were pulled out of the queue when the Fast 12 session was underway. They were provisionally given a fourth-row start before this new development. Since Scott McLaughlin crashed in practice, he was already out of the Fast 12.

This Indy 500 fiasco seems to be bigger than the team's cheating scandal in early 2024, where all three Team Penske cars had illegal push-to-pass settings during the St. Petersburg race. Josef Newgarden and Scott McLaughlin were disqualified from the race, while Will Power was fined $25,000 and docked 10 points.

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Pato O'Ward's strong stance on Team Penske's technical violation during Indy 500 qualifying

Pato O'Ward at the 109th Running of The Indianapolis 500 - Source: Getty

Arrow McLaren driver Pato O'Ward bluntly called out Team Penske for its technical breaches on Sunday. He was of the view that Newgarden and Power should've been sent to Last Chance Qualifying instead of being given a fourth-row start.

"They weren't accidentally doing it because they had the blowtorch right there in order to get it out," O'Ward said via Motorsport. "Honestly, I feel for [Jacob] Abel and for everybody that did the disqualifications or the last chance qualifying. Those (Penske) cars weren't in regulations."

"I'm not an engineer, so I can't tell you what they were doing, how much speed that it is or if it is any speed. Obviously, it's not in regulation. The rule is pretty black and white. Those cars should have been in the last chance qualifier."

Graham Rahal was of the same opinion as O'Ward's and voiced it on his Instagram account. O'Ward's four-lap average of 232.098 mph secured him a spot on the outside of the front row, in P3. He became the first driver of Mexican origin to do so.